Beauty Has a Price
by district12victor
Summary: All his life, Cinna has always dreamed of being a stylist. The question was, how was a District 11 boy, going to make it big in the Capitol. There was only one answer: The Hunger Games
1. 1) Thalia

Prologue

Was it really worth it? The images flashing before my eyes, running laps through my thoughts, and the nightmares that attack my slumber. I know it was my only choice if I was to follow my dreams, but was it really worth ruining somebody else's? Sometimes it's just certain images, other times seconds, minutes, horrifying hours of revisiting my past. Some people may have thought of me as a hero for saving little Thalia's brother, I don't understand their reasoning. I am nothing but a killer, a young boy of District 11, just wanting to follow his dreams and not pondering his consequences. A young boy who thought being a victor was the only way to achieve his goals, to pay for a stylists' education, to become a tribute's designer. He shocked many, was considered a life saver, thrilled the starving crowds of his district, but the games changed him. Instead of being the happiest man alive, because no district person has ever been able to follow dreams that were as outrageous as his, he was miserable. Never had he realized how terrible being a victor was. Never had it appeared to him that he would be the face of murderer to those poor families of children he had killed. Never had he considered that nightmares would take over his sleep and scaring images would fee his waking hours…

That boy was me.

Chapter One – Thalia

"You can't catch me!" Thalia shrieked as I chased after her.

"We'll see about that!" I called back , just a couple feet away from her. Stretching and taking extra-long strides, I caught up to her and picked her up by the waist.

"Cinna!" she shrieked some more as I twirled her around in the air.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, playing stupid, and completely stopping twirling. Carefully I plopped her down on the ground.

"Not that I don't like it when you do that, but I have to go! My mom is waiting by Apple Orchard Number 4!" she said.

"Oh alright, I guess you can go!" I said pouting.

"You know I'm sorry! It's just that you know what tonight is!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Thistle's having her baby and you had to leave her side for your shift picking strawberries and you took her shift picking grapes. Run along now! I know you'll make a great aunt." I reply with a smile.

"Thanks Cinna! You're the best!" I kiss her on the cheek and she runs off, her long blonde curls flowing behind her in the wind.

Smiling to myself, I think about how perfect she is. Being in District 11, she kind of sticks out like a sore thumb. While mostly everyone here is dark skinned with black hair and brown eyes, Thalia has light skin and beautiful long blonde curls. Her crystal clear, blue eyes shine like the sky. She may be different, but from the moment I saw her, I knew she was right for me. The two of us, just twelve years old, are a perfect couple and always will be. She is the love of my life and I would do anything to protect her. Thistle, One of her older sisters, was having her first baby while we were in the fields this morning and I could tell that was where her heart was at the time being. Every time she turned around I had been adding strawberries to her basket, so that she could finish quicker. I don't mind the extra work. Anything for my Thalia.

I wonder how Thistle is doing. I know she is going to be a fantastic mother, just by the way that treats her sisters, even by the way that she treats me! Food is scarce in their house and they usually go to bed hungry. But if you re poor and have a wide stretched family that is growing with hungry mouths to feed, you are going to be hungry. I mean, Thalia has 13 sisters! Her parents passed away due to disease years ago, so it had just been her sisters all this time. There's Gemma(24 with a one year old baby), Thistle, (22 and is having a baby right now), Melody and Willow (twins, 20), Autumn (18), Summer, (17), Sunny (15), Merida, Ember, and Scarlette (triplets, 14), Thalia (12), Ever (9), and the youngests, Meadow and Lillian (twins, 6).

Judging by the sun, it was getting late, almost 5:30, and I was going to Thalia's home to visit and see how Thistle was doing around 6:30. Shoot. I forgot to get food ready so I could just grab it and go when I get home! Collecting myself, I start the walk home, deciding on what I should bring to Thalia's for rations.

Stumbling, I walk home. Within ten minutes, I arrived at my doorstep. My parents were still in the fields, since today was the day of their extra shift. Next to the door, I slide my feet out of my shoes. The worn leather had molded to my feet and holes threatened to break through at any moment. Our one floor home has a small kitchen, a living room with a rickety, old television used for the mandatory Capitol viewings, suchas The Hunger Games, a large cot for my parents to sleep, a tiny bathroom with only cold water, and if you climb a latter, there is a small loft that is my room.

The rungs of the latter are familiar to my nimble fingers as I climb swiftly up to my room. It is no effort to me, since I climb trees all the time in the orchids.

In my room, I finally can relax. Later on this evening I will stop by Thalia's house and visit Thistle. I make a mental note to remember to bring some food.

Turning around, I see my fabrics. Colors upon colors stacked up in the corner of my loft. The sewing kit beside the table. The endless colors of thread. It all brings a grin to my face. My dream is to become a stylist for The Hunger Games. To be praised and famous for my designs that tributes can model! It is a dream that shouldn't even be thought of, living in District 11. The wind breezes through my window, flipping open the cover of my sketchbook and landing on a random page. Some of my colored pencils roll onto the floor and I see the sketch it opened to. It was my latest design. A red, floor length gown that blazes with fire around the skirt when the model twirled. Sparkles created the sleeve and I thought it was quite beautiful. But, I could never have enough money to afford to make it. All of the supplies I currently have were a present from a rich relative I had that died years ago. That's when the idea struck me.


	2. 2) My Brilliant Idea

Chapter 2- My "Brilliant" Idea

Victors are given a ridiculous amount of money to the point where it seems unlimited.

Money… The item needed to pay for the insanely expensive stylists schools.

Victors live in an EMORMOUS house in victor's village and are always being transported to and from the Capitol.

The Capitol… Where there are schools to go to to train to be a stylist. Where the stylists work, beautifying the tributes for their interviews and the Opening Ceremonies.

Victors are supposed to have a talent like singing or painting or DESIGNING CLOTHES to occupy themselves with, since they no longer have to go to school or work.

Designing clothes would be a great talent for a victor.

In order to be a professional stylist, I would have to become a victor. It all makes sense now! From this moment on I would train like a Career and I would be unbeatable.

"Yes!" I cried at my new idea while standing next to my window. Glancing outside I earn a few puzzled looks from the people passing by.

For the rest of the night I made list after list of exercises and training I would have to do for the next six years. I figured that it would be better to volunteer when I was 18, rather than twelve. It would give me more years of training, giving me an advantage on the other tributes.

After a few hours, it was already 6:15 p.m. Yikes. I was planning on going to Thalia's house around 6:30 p.m…

Swiftly speeding down the latter that leads to my loft bedroom, I jump the last two rungs and head to the kitchen. Rummaging through the cabinets, I find a large tin of raisins. Last week, the grapes in Grape Field 4 were left out in the sun too long and Capitolites don't have a huge appetite, so whatever raisins you picked were yours to keep. Most people did not pick them, because they would've missed their shifts or what not, but Thalia and I had spent the day plucking the shriveled grapes from their vines into our baskets. Food is food, no matter how you put it. Raisins are food.

Besides raisins, I find sunflower seeds in the cupboard. When sunflower seeds fall of the flowers and litter the ground in the meadow, you can grab as many as you want. The Peacekeepers are happy you do it, because it means that they don't have to be the ones cleaning up the meadow. In return for cleaning the meadow, we get to keep the seeds we pick up for planting or food or selling or whatever.

Stretching my arm to the top shelf I grab the chocolate chips, marshmallows, and pumpkin seeds. Just a week ago, my mother and I had purchased bread for Thistle's baby shower. The baker had been extremely kind and gave us a free sample of chocolate chis and these small, fluffy, white cylinders he called marshmallows. He promised us that they were his latest dessert decoration. The tiny sweetshop had invented these one day while they were working and he had found a liking for them and bought a bunch to try on his treats. Te pumpkin seed were from the pumpkin patch. My family had purchased a medium pumpkin from a vegetable stall, because they are multi food purposeful. We make pumpkin pie, pumpkin tarts and bread; we do all kinds of things like that with food to make it last longer. My favorite art of the pumpkins are the seeds. My family may be very poor, but we are doing well compared to other families in District 11.

I take the raisins, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, marshmallows, and pumpkin seeds and put them in a bowl; mixing them up well, creating trail mix, a common snack/meal found in District 11. Just as I was about to leave, my mother comes strolling in the door.

"Hi Cinna! Where are you headed off to?" my mother asked cheerfully.

"I was just going to Thalia's house to visit and see how Thistle was doing," I replied.

"Okay, just be respectful and follow the rules. It's not your house, so you have to listen and follow directions, Cinna," my mother parented.

"I know mom," I said while tying my shoe.

"Did you make the trail mix I wanted you to bring? Those poor girls, with 14 mouths to feed, it must be a nightmare," she said.

"Yup! I've got it right here!" I say, referring to the large container of trail mix tucked under my arm.

"Okay, have fun! I love you!" she said as she kissed my forehead.

"Love you too!" I started to leave, "Bye!" I called over my shoulder as I started running towards Thalia's house.


	3. 3) Thalia's Reaction

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted any author's notes or anything, I was more focused on getting it to worl! =)**

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Chapter 3-Thalia's Reaction

When I arrive, Thistle's door is closed and I found it rude to enter her room, so I stay in the living room with Thalia. We munched on the trail mix and I decided to tell her my idea.

When I finished, she nearly choked on her chocolate chip she was eating.

"You're going to what?" she gasps.

"Volunteer." I reply calmly.

"Oh my god Cinna! Are you insane?" she almost shrieks.

"No, I am not insane!" I counter.

"But the arena changes you! You know that Cinna! Just look at Chaff!" she exclaims with terror visible in her eyes.

"Thalia, you know what this means to me! This is the only way I'm ever going to become a stylist! Please calm down!" I reply. As much as I want this, it hurts me when Thalia's hurting.

"Calm down? Calm down, Cinna? You've got tobe kidding me! You're planning on volunteering to go into an arena with 24 children, where only one emerges ALIVE, and you want me to be calm?" she says angrily.

"Please Thalia. You are making this so much worse for me! You know how much it hurts me when you're hurting!"

"Cinna, just stop and listen to me for a minute! Every year, two tributes from District 11 go into the Hunger Games. Every year, a victor is crowned. Every year it is more often than not, one of us. You will be pitted against tributes who have trained for this since could walk. They know how to survive in the wild, how to wield many weapons, and how to use their body and strength to the best of ther ability. Almost every year, a Career wins. All you have done all of your life is pick fruits and vegetables from various farms and gardens all of your life. Sure, you have muscles and experience woth plants, but you don't know how to wield a weapon or have the courage to actually take the life of another tribute."

"If you died in that arena I would broken beyond repair. No apothecary could ever mend my heart from that horrible loss. The loss of the one person I love most." She looks up into my eyes trying to hold back her tears.

"Thalia, I'm sorry, I don't mean to hurt you and I promise I will always be there for you!" I stand up and walk over to her chair and wrap my arms around her.

"Thalia, I love you," I whisper into her ear as she snuggles deep into my shirt. We stay like this until Lillian and Meadow come running over to us talking so fast no one can understand them.

"We were playing on the floor in the kitchen with our acorn dolls and my dolls arm fell off!" Meadow starts.

"You can't play if your doll doesn't have an arm, so we went into Thistle's room to ask Mommy to fix it!" Lillian finishes.

"Then, when we entered the room, Thistle's room, she was in there and she was crying, so we thought she was upset and went over to make sure she was okay." Meadow says out of breath.

"When we got next to Thistle, Mommy was standing next to her, and then in Thistle's arms was…" Lillian says with a cheeky grin.

"…A BABY!" Meadow interrupts Lillian with a shriek of excitement!

Thalia's face lights up and she's grinning from ear to ear.

"Cinna! Come on! We have to go see!" she shrieks with joy and pulls me by the arm to Thistle's room. After she gently knocks on the door, Weston, Thistle's husband, opens the door and beckons us into the room. Lillian and Meadow quietly trail in behind us.

"She's beautiful!" Thalia exclaims.

"Absolutely," I reply with a smile.

"Her name is Rue," Thistle's whispers gently.

"It's wonderful…" Thalia says dreamily as she stares at Rue tiny features. Thalia has always had a soft spot for yound children and especially babies.

"Here," Thistle whispers, "you can hold her."

Thalia stands with Rue in her arms and I stand behind her with my arms wrapped around her waist. Like in my dreams.

Our perfect family.


	4. 4) The Proposal

**Hey guys! Here's just a bit romantic chapter before Cinna volunteers in the next chapter! **

**Enjoy! =)**

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Chapter 4-almost 6 years later

"97, 98, 99,…100!" Macy exclaims proudly, "Great work Cinna!"

"Thanks!" I grin. The reaping was only a few weeks away and I had been training for 6 years to volunteer for the Hunger Games. Here in District 11, we don't have the fancy training gyms to train potential tributes. We only have Macy, who is a victor and entered the games when she was reaped. After her experience, she set uo this secret and illegal tribute training center in her basement in Victors Village. I have been deemed worthy of volunteering for the male's position and Ever was volunteering for the female's position. There were very few of us training here, only about 10 kids, all different ages and different genders.

"Jeez Cinna! Are you thirsty?" Merliah asks when she sees me. She was one of my closest friends here at the training camp.

"How'd you guess?" I ask, knowing that I'm panting and sweating like a pig.

"Here," she says, tossing me a water bottle.

"Thanks!" I gulp it down greedily.

"Why don't you go hit the showers, Cinna?" Macy offers, "You've had a long day of training, go take the rest of the day off. The reaping is only two weeks away and you have barely had any time with your loved ones."

"Really?" I ask, genuinely surprised.

"Definitely"

Without even think about it, I grab my bag and race out the door. The rusty old watering holes we consider showers are refreshing and as soon as I step outside her beautiful house in Victors Village, I finally feel like myself again. For today, training is over and I can spend some quality time with Thalia before we are separated. I have something… special in mind.

Knocking on her door, I feel the small box in my pocket.

"Cinna!" she exclaims as it creaks open, "I thought you didn't get out until late at night!"

"Well, today's more of a special occasion," I reply with a sneaky smile.

"Special occasion?" she questions.

Bending down on one knee, I pull the small box out of my pocket and prop it open. I extend towards her.

"Thalia Russell, will you marry me?"

Tears fill her eyes and the smile across her delicate face stretches for miles. "YES!" she screams, "YES yes yes yes! A thousand times YES!" she leaps into my arms and I carefully place the ring on her finger with care.

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**Thanks for reading! 33 I promise he will volunteer in the next chapter! Then, I promise, things will get A LOT better! You know, the Hunger Games and such!**

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	5. 5) I Volunteer!

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while! Please forgive me! =) Everything has been crazy with soccer 8 days a week and games two hours away! I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will try to update ASAP! **

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* * *

My palms are sweaty as I approach the line to sign in at the raping. My stomach is in my throat, my head is punding, and I can't sit still. Today is the day that I'm going to volunteer. No matter how many times I tell myself this, I cannot believe it to be real. Practically everybody in District 11 knows I'm going to do the inevitable, but for someone out there, it means a life saved. One lucky boy who is reaped today will be very thankful it was this year he was reaped. As for th girls, I have know idea what to expect.

The line is moving up and I'm getting closer to the sign in. My parents are going to be very upset, but for right now that is the least of my worries.

"Next!" the Peacekeeper shouts, snapping me out of my thoughts.

As the sharp needle plunges into my finger's flesh, Iwince involuntarily. Those things are nasty.

Before I know it, I'm standing in the section with hte 18 year olds, anticapating my chance.

Maura Darnel bounces out on stage in her ridiculous Capitol fashions and I can't help but snicker. The outfits these people call highend fashion are absolutely hideous and practically laughable. She goes on and on with her speech and welcomes us to the 68th Annual Hunger Games until finally, finally it's time for the drawing.

"May the odds be ever in your favor!" she screeches as her hand plunges into the transparent glass bowl. Every single person in District 11 is holding their breathe, praying for the safety of their loved ones. After a few seconds of flitting about in the bowl, she selects a single piece of paper.

"Crimson Malloway"

The crowd is silent, excpet for the waling of a middle aged woman who has to be taken away by Peacekeepers. She must be Crimson's mother. A pathway is made for the girl in the twelve year olds section as she tries to keep her head up and not burst into tears. My heart breaks for this poor girl. I can see her lip quivering and a few stray tears escape down her cheeks. Now is not the time for me to get all mushy. I have to keep my head up.

"Now for the boys!" her hand once again plunges into a deep bowl searching for its victim. The silence was unbearable and I was losing my patience.

"I volunteer as tribute!" I shout proudly before my district, before Maura had even retrieved the slip she was going to pull.

I hold my head high with a smile proudly pasted on my face.

"What is your name dear?" Maura squeaks.

"Cinna. Cinna Reyes."

"Lovely! Ladies and gentleman, I give you the tributes of District 11, Crimson and Cinna!"


End file.
